1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to swimming pools, and more particularly to a system that injects ozone in swimming pool water for sanitizing purposes.
2. Background Information
Ozone can be a good substitute for the commercially available chlorine compounds often used for sanitizing swimming pool water. Its odor is less offensive, its effect on the human eye less irritating, and its pH neutral. Thus, use of ozone for this purpose is of interest.
One problem in using ozone for swimming pool water, however, concerns the large volume of essentially non-turbulent water through which the ozone must be dispersed. Thus, injecting the ozone through the fixed water supply outlets for the pool is not effective in sanitizing all of the pool water because the ozone does not disperse throughout all of the water. Although a large number of fixed ozone-injection ports can be installed during swimming pool construction along the bottom of the pool to overcome this problem, such a solution can be very expensive and unavailable for an existing pool.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,783 to Kern describes an apparatus in the form of a modified swimming pool cleaner that solves the above problem. Flexible conduits or whip hoses attached to a floatable head snake back and forth in a conventional manner as water pressure moves the head about the pool for cleaning purposes. Sanitizing is accomplished at the same time by utilizing a venturi system to inject ozone into the water supplied by the pool pump to the whip hoses. A relatively inexpensive and effective ozone injection system results that can be used with both new and existing swimming pools.
Sometimes, however, a swimming pool cleaner with whip hoses is not used, such as where a pool blanket is used or where heavy debris and leaves must be picked up so that use of a pool vacuum cleaner is more appropriate. Other times, use of a swimming pool cleaner is inconvenient, such as when people are using the pool or at times when it is desired that the pool pump remain off. In addition, it is sometimes desirable to inject a larger volume of ozone in order to realize the better sanitizing action of a higher ozone concentration. Consequently, it is desirable to have an ozone injection system for such situations.